2019 Possibilities for Khabib

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Posted by Charlene Adams on Feb 15, 2019 in MMA | Comments Off on 2019 Possibilities for Khabib

Both the end of 2018 and the start of 2019
has been filled with news revolving around the suspension of McGregor and
Khabib following the UFC 229 chaos that occurred in October.

As most would know already, but the
fighters were suspended right after the fight while the Nevada Athletics
Commission decided on the punishment. In January 2019, the ruling was finally
delivered, and both fighters received a fine and suspension for their part.
This included six months for McGregor and nine months for Khabib, who also had
the option of decreasing it to 6 months with an anti-bullying post, which
wasn’t accepted.

While this seemed to have been the end of
the matter and that we’d see both fighters return to the octagon within just a
few months, the fact that Khabib’s teammates received a suspension of a year
wasn’t going to go well with Khabib. The fighter didn’t take the news well and
made it known that he won’t return to defend his title until his teammates are
able to compete again. That means we won’t see him fight until November 2019.

Many might have made peace with with
already, but the MMA board aren’t pleased with the choice as it places loads of
strain on the possible fights lined up for 2019. Therefore, earlier this week,
Dana White made an announcement that Khabib would not be able to sit out and
hold onto the title.

So far, we haven’t seen a response from Khabib’s management team, and we’re not sure what the future might hold for the current title holder, but here are some possibilities;

If Khabib Returns

The most logical move for Khabib would be
to return to the octagon and defend his title against interested fighters.
Sure, he would still need to wait for the few remaining months of his
suspension, but even that could be decreased with the anti-bullying option
that’s available.

Not only would it mean great things for
2019 MMA, but the fighter wouldn’t be wasting time by sitting on the sidelines,
let’s face it, retirement is coming up for all the fighters, even those that
have proven to be the best.

His income would also take a punishment if he sits out as sponsors would need to reconsider deals and he would obviously be losing out on some brilliant money fights that might just include Mayweather taking on another MMA title holder.

If Khabib Doesn’t Return

If he doesn’t return, we might just see him
being stripped of his title, which would mean it can be fought for or it will
go back to McGregor who was the holder before Khabib. Of course, this would
line up many other fights, once again involving McGregor.

It could also mean that Khabib loses the title until he returns, but this would just make it confusing for those interested in entering the octagon to fight for the title. However, it could also mean that Khabib would need to fight to get it back.